


Just Squishing a Bug

by ainui



Category: Avengers Assemble (Cartoon), The Avengers - Ambiguous Fandom
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cuddling & Snuggling, Flashbacks, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, mostly fluff tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-08
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2019-06-23 23:25:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15617340
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ainui/pseuds/ainui
Summary: "Sorry, Mr. Stark. Your firewalls are impressive, the best I've seen in a while, but there's nothing I can't hack."ORtony scares the shit out of steve and cuddles to make up for it





	Just Squishing a Bug

**Author's Note:**

> fair warning i proofed this once and its not beta read

It had become habit- glancing over at Tony's face when an enemy approached. It stemmed from an old reflex of checking to see if whatever crazy thing Steve spotted was a legitimate threat or just a normal 21st century thing. (The lines seemed to blur for Steve.) He could always tell when something was dangerous from the way Tony's jaw clenched and his eyebrows knit together in thought, which would probably be more comforting if Steve didn't know that rapid brainstorming was essentially the closest the genius ever got to panicking. And that Tony Stark Mock Panic™ was awfully clear on his face right now.

The woman hadn't really looked threatening. She was small in stature, a pretty young latino girl that blended in seamlessly with the crowd. But it was hard to miss the glint of mischief in her eye, paired with her... tattoos? Implants? It was hard to tell, but the thin lines were easy to spot. They trailed up from her hands and snaked around her body up to the nape of her neck, finally disappearing under her hairline. That's what had caused Steve to glance at Tony, which brought them to where they were now- on top of Avengers Tower, perched on the large landing pad. The chase had been short. The girl seemed to know exactly where she was going, although she certainly appeared to be pinned now.

"Really now, I don't want to use my day off chasing little girls. Tell us what you're doing here, kid." Tony spoke confidently. Steve didn't miss the calculated manner of his words.

The girl looked bored. "Oh, same old, same old. Information catches quite a fine price these days. And you are, after all, one of the most powerful men in the world, Mr. Stark."

"Also one of the smartest," he quipped, "I don't think you'll find my servers particularly accessible. Really, this doesn't have to be difficult, I assure you."

It's then that Steve notices Tony's hands are casually being held behind his back under the guise of a professional pose. One of them is gauntleted.

"I'm quite aware. I think we can do this rather painlessly, Mr.Stark." The girl peaces slowly towards them, making both men tense up. She pauses, and for a moment they're all frozen, waiting for the first move.

And then the girl laughs.

" _Relajate,_ I'm a hacker, not a murderer."

"I've never seen a hacker get so hands on before," Steve grits out.

"You've never seen me, I suppose. Remote hacking is so last year, you know?"

The girl reaches into her bulky jacket, and Steve lunges in front of Tony, shield up. There's the deafening roar of gunfire and the metallic sound of his shield deflecting them, and he thanks whatever deity above that he got to Tony in time. He hears the familiar whirrs and clicks of the Iron Man suit wrapping around the billionaire's body, and suddenly Tony's in front of him in full armor.

"Wow! You guys really are as good as they say," the girl laughs, eyeing the armor in a way that makes Steve's stomach churn.

"Tony," he warns.

"Man, you've really condemned yourself now, kid. Assault and battery? Not great in front of a judge."

" _Pendejo_ ," she mutters. "That's only if you get caught."

The girl taps something on her arm, and a pink screen all too similar to the holograms Steve loves to watch Tony play with projects in front of her. She begins furiously tapping with one hand. Tony's eyes go wide, and a repulsor blast flies past Steve, narrowly missing the girl as she side steps.

"Steve! Don't let her-"

He goes silent before the armor starts hissing, opening up and dumping Tony on the ground in a rather undignified manner.

"Sorry, Mr. Stark. Your firewalls are impressive, the best I've seen in a while, but there's nothing I can't hack."

Steve whips his shield toward the girl, but the armor sends a blast that knocks it to the side.  _She's controlling the armor,_ he realizes. Not good.

"Tony, get back!" He's too vulnerable without the suit. Steve needs to protect him. He's in  _danger_.

"As if," the genius replies with a quick roll of his eyes. He taps his watch and lets a light gauntlet cover his hand, but Steve knows it's not enough.

"Tony-"

"Give me my suit back if you don't want to get hurt, kid."

The girl smiles. "My pleasure. I've got what I need. It was an honor, Mr. Stark. Oh, and Captain? You might want to encourage your boyfriend here to listen to you more. Might save his life once or twice. See you later!" And with a wave of her hand, she disappears. Shit, she got intel, didn't she? And SI intel nonetheless. Pepper was gonna flip.

Steve is ready to track her down before he hears a startled yell from Tony, who is backing toward the edge of the platform slowly as the suit stalks towards him.

"Steve, baby, a little help?" He says with a nervous laugh. Still trying to look stoic, no doubt.

Not good. Very not good. The girl still has control. This was her plan, wasn't it? Put Tony in danger to allow her to escape. She must have known Steve would save Tony first. She's too damn smart for her own good.

"Tony, call a suit!" he yells in panic, diving for his discarded shield.

"I'm trying!"

Blood is rushing in Steve's ears. Tony is just a few feet from the edge, and if he falls at this height-

A repulsor blast. A yell.

Tony is falling.

Steve sprints to the edge and grips the small rail, peering over the side- he thinks the suit has fallen over, finally out of the hacker's control, but he's too focused on Tony, falling through the air, mouth open in a silent scream, arms outstretched towards Steve-

He sees Bucky.

And suddenly, he can't breathe. Bucky fell, he's gone, he can't- he just lost another friend, another lover- he can't-

_He's reaching for Bucky, as far as the rail will allow, but the wind is whipping around him and he can hardly breathe. Bucky inches towards him, but his own handhold is failing, shuddering beneath the weight._

_"Grab my hand!"_

_And he's trying, Bucky is trying, Steve just needs to get a little closer, but the rail gives away completely._

_"NO!"_

_Bucky is screaming as he falls, taking the rail with him, because Steve wasn't fast enough, couldn't save him. He can see the body falling until it's disappears, and there's no way Bucky could have survived that. He can't breathe, it's his fault, and now he's alone in the middle of God-knows-where on a train headed towards a location that doesn't even matter anymore because Bucky is_ dead _-_

"Steve!"

His head whips up, and he registers he's not on a train, there's no snow, no wind pulling at him, and Tony's is right in front of him, out of breath and bleeding a little but  _alive_ -

"Steve, baby, I'm okay, just breathe for me, okay?"

"I- c-can't-" he wheezes.

"No, don't talk, just, hold on-"

Tony stumbles out of the silver prototype suit, the one he was working on just before this whole mess, the one that undoubtedly just saved his life. He grabs Steve's hand and presses it to his chest, to the arc reactor. It's humming beneath his palm, and Steve can feel it rising and falling with Tony's chest.

"Breathe with me, okay? Just like this."

Steve tries. It doesn't really work, but after ten minutes of sitting there like that, with his hand to Tony's chest, he can finally feel the lungfuls of air entering his body.

"Okay?" Tony murmurs, and Steve gathers his stupid idiot boyfriend in his arms and holds him way tighter than can be considered comfortable.

"I thought you- the suit, I-"

"I know, baby, but I'm okay. You think I'm just gonna leave you here like that?" Tony says into Steve's shoulder, because the super soldier still hasn't let go and probably won't for a while. His only response is to hold him closer.

"Come on, let's get inside, yeah? I promise you can hold me as much as you want then."

Steve hums. "Yeah, 'kay. I love you."

He thinks he feels Tony smile into his neck. "I love you, too."

***

It takes an hour of Tony begging Steve to just leave the hacker to Shield before they finally fall into bed, Steve curled protectively around Tony.

"Steve, I'm seriously fine. I'm a little more worried about you," he says as Steve fingers the cut in his hairline. The suit was a prototype, after all. Small lacerations weren't uncommon.

"I'm not the one who nearly died, Tony."

Tony squirmed until he was facing Steve, pressing their foreheads together. "You had a full blown panic attack. Complete with a PTSD flashback and all. I know how much those suck. It's okay to not be okay, Steve."

"I know, it just... I saw you fall, and it was exactly like when Bucky did, and I just- my brain didn't even allow the option that you were okay, you were just gone, and I couldn't do anything." Steve knew Tony took notice of the way his breathing picked up.

"Sh, babe, I know. But I'm fine."

Steve closed his eyes. "I couldn't even do anything," he muttered.

He felt a chaste kiss on the tip of his nose. "Not your fault, Stevie. Now stop worrying already and cuddle with me."

Steve smiled and pulled Tony closer. "Sure thing, Shellhead."

**Author's Note:**

> comment if you know who the hacker is based on lol
> 
> ive been playing way to much of a certain game


End file.
